Islam made a momentous entry into the Northern Territories of Ghana at the beginning of the fifteenth century mainly due to commercial (trading) activities of sahelian tribes of West Africa. Prior to that, Da'wah workers had made contact and written extensively about the people including inhabitants of Bonoman states located in the hinterlands of contemporary Ghana.[1]

The arrival and spread of Islam in Ghana followed several and different pathways; the Mandens came through the North and North-Western corridors of Ghana whiles the Borno and Hausa peoples came through the North-East. Islam is though to have successfully penetrated southern Ghana following the "collapse of the Bono and the Begho states, and its increase was encouraged by the fact that the slave trade became more lucrative and competitive".[2] Furthermore, the British colonial government in the nineteenth century enlisted people from various northern predominantly Muslim communities into the colonial army. Finally, the mass exodus of immigrants into forest areas of Ghana following the 1892 Sack of Salaga by joint forces of Dagomba, Namumba and Gonja Kingdoms significantly depleted Muslim populations in the North whiles boosting that of the South.[3][4]

Despite tensions in the Middle East and North Africa since the mid-1970s, Muslims and Christians in Ghana have had excellent relations. Guided by the authority of the Muslim Representative Council, religious, social, and economic matters affecting Muslims have often been redressed through negotiations. The Muslim Council has the responsible for arranging pilgrimages to Mecca for believers who can afford the journey.[5] The National Chief Imam of Ghana is the highest authority relating Muslim affairs in Ghana.

In Ghana some metropolitan areas and cities, especially in areas with a significant Muslim population, have Islamic or Arabic schools offering Primary, Junior Secondary, Senior Secondary education and Tertiary education.

Muslim population is concentrated in Northern Ghana and in Zongo communities scattered across the country. Zongo Communities are settlements predominated by immigrants from Sahelian areas of West Africa who have adopted Hausa language as a lingua franca. Members of the Zongo community are commonly regarded as Northerners, however, the two communities are distinct; having different cultures and languages.[7][8][9]

The official Ghana Statistical Service census reports 18% as being Muslims[10] although that figure is being protested by independent organizations. The Coalition of Muslim Organizations maintain that the final figures released in 2002 "contained serious flaws and as a result could not be used as reliable data for planning and projecting the country’s development agenda".[11][12] The call came at the same time groups mainly from the North petitioned Government to withdraw the results expressing concern that some ethnic groups were underrepresented in the population count and that the Service should open up their procedures for public scrutiny. CIA statistics puts the population of Muslims in Ghana at 30 percent. Other accounts place the figure at 45 percent.[13][14][15][note 1] Government of Ghana allocation of funds for national development is heavily influence by population demographics.[16][17]

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, formally established in 1921, is the oldest continuous Muslim community in Ghana. Ahmadi Muslims were among the earliest Muslim missionaries in Ghana and by 1957, they had converted over 100,000 (mostly Christian) people to Islam.[18][2] The first Ahmadi missionary to Ghana - Maulvi Abdul Rahim Nayyar came upon invitation from Muslims in Saltpond.[19] At 16%, Ghana hosts the largest proportion of Ahmadis to Muslims by country.[20]

Sufism is the most traditional form of Islam in Ghana because of its long presence, close association and tolerance for the culture of the indigenous peoples even though they have never come together to form an establishment or a unified community.[21] Prominent Sufi orders represented in Ghana are the Tijaniyya and Qadiriyya. Sufism is common among the immigrant Muslim population of Ghana, also known as the Zongos. Sufis make up 27 percent of Muslims in Ghana.[20]

Sunni Islam was introduced into Ghana as part of the 1940's reformist activities of late Ghanaian Mujaddid, Afa Ajura. Afa Ajura's campaign challenged the status quo of the Sufi doctrine and purged him against the already establish Sufi social structures. It was not until the 1970s that his message of Tawhid gained wide acceptance, resulting in majority of Muslims representing 51 percent (2014),[20] now affiliating with the Anbariyya Sunni Community. Recently Sunni adherents in Zongo communities in southern Ghana (18‰ of Muslims)[20] have formed the "Ahlusunnah wal Jamaa" organization although they still draw inspiration from the parent Anbariyya leadership.[22][23][24]

^Ghana's Muslims have previously raised concern over the census figures which states that 17% of Ghanaians belong to the Muslim faith. It is claimed that Muslims represent somewhere between 30 and 45% of Ghana. Under this, the Ahmadiyya population would number almost 2 million. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community itself gives an estimate of over 2 million Ahmadis in Ghana. See: